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The Askers Wait for an Answer: DED 1/10 and 2/10s Continued

And on the11th page, we received a response. Not the response that we want to receive,
but thanks must be given where they are due. CCP Golliath could have
said, “Not me!” and ignored us. It wasn't an answer but it was a response. After a eighteen days of waiting, any blue bannered CCP response was like a drink of cool water on a hot day.

Thank you. Not ignored. We can work from here.

I babbled about how we, as players, have aLove
Hate relationshipwith Eve
and CCP. Situations like this, where the players want and expect a
response from CCP over a major game change, causes passions to bubble to the
surface. The emotional mind and the rational mind enter a war to see who will own the communication channels. Things get interesting after that point.

There is the
question: “Do we deserve an answer?”

I will say: "Yes".

I stated in the
thread at one point that CCP has developed a culture of developer to player
interaction. This has created a standard of expectancy between
the players and the developer when major game changes are made. Hans went
forth and asked at the CSM meeting but that does not mean the rest of us curl
up and wait. Hans is a representative but he is not, and cannot
be, everyone. Thankfully, there are multiple places where our words can
also be placed.

In a game as
complex as Eve, basic numerical changes that make complete and perfect sense on
paper can and will break the game. This is why so many players pour so
much time into play testing. It is not just bug reports and new toys. It
is the players reinvesting in the game with their best currency, their game
experience.

It is how we pay
CCP (beyond IRL iskies). It is one reason that Eve continues to move forward. That
connection between the two sides creates a constant ebb and flow and tug of war
situation. It stops CCP from rampaging on personal projects that are
disconnected from the actual game (vs their personal version) and it stops the players from just walking away from
their time investment (due to a deeper investment in the structure).

It’s also about
activism. As someone that absolutely hates being an activist, I do love
this game and low sec enough that I’m willing to put myself out there as I can.
Sometimes that means the forums, and post after post after post on a
topic. It may mean my blog. Sometimes that means rampaging
around twitter and occasionally trying to grab people in game for chats.
I admit that I do criticize people about slacktivism. My
coworkers are notorious for it on Facebook. My base
personality, therefore forces me into the role
of activism when it is a cause I wish to pursue.

It follows the
same principles laid forth to the members of high sec when the CSM
elections come up. You have to vote for who you want instead of
complaining about who you got when you did nothing to forward it. It is
the same thing that caused the massive flare up and out pouring of words about
the mulled upon gategun changes that enraged the player base. Maybe
nothing would have happened or maybe everyone would have taken our
detached silence as a 'go forth and do, they are not upset it must be
fine'.

And its hard.
It's so easy to curl up or just ignore things and let them happen.
It's incredibly easy. ‘Oh well’ and to walk away. But what
will that get us in the end? I’m not a bittervet. I want Eve for
years. I want to have the option to become one one day but that won’t
happen if Eve goes away. For Eve to prosper it is more than sub money (I
pay enough of that). It's also these exchanges of information and this
level of communication. Its what gives us low sec to even argue over. Otherwise someone wins with tiered high to null, or low being nulls stage, or no low at all, or something else that isn't what it is now.

And then there is
being polite. Being upset over a topic does not equal being nasty about
said topic.

A polarizing
discussion has a lot of power. The right words and combinations will
spark and intense debate. When people are mature adults, they can often
(but not always) back down from this, take some deep breaths and remember
that it is a game and they may be mad but the words said may have value.

But consumption of
information without the burn of low grade irritation over insults also has its
place. I feel silly, and hopefully I do not
sound condescending when I say that I am proud of the general tone
and response of the members of Low Sec that have pushed at this cause on the
thread. There has been a lot of good information, politely worded pokings
and a general avoidance for the most part of the ultimatum and
demands that turn a request into something that is ignored on principle.

It's nice to see
Low Sec get out and support itself. No one else is going to support us
for us and it is not as if we are people who expect others to take care of us.
I tire of seeing everyone attempting to make decisions for us
based off of what they want and not what is low sec itself. Seeing so
many people participate was wonderful. It encourages me
that perhaps, we can form enough coherency, even if it is just snapping whips
and prodding corpmembers in our chats to do something focused this next CSM
election and into the future when things corp up and words are needed.

There is a lot to be
learned from Wormholes and Nullsec in their organization when it comes to
the things that they want. Organization does not have to mean
'my corp' and 'my person'. Sometimes, we need to stop bickering
and stop chest thumping and lay down a bit of focused attention on issues that
are greater than ourselves. Our preservation and definition of low sec as
the PvP focused wonderland with its odd rules and weird mechanics that are both
awkward and irritating but wonderful and accepted at the same time is
important. Its like when the community gets together and cleans
up the trash that random people dump out of their car windows because
they believe that nature and their trashcan are the same things.
You have to work to preserve where you live, even when it is not you who
damaged the environment.

I hate standing on
soap boxes but, this one is not very worn yet so it needs a bit of use.

CCP hasn't yet
answered our question. We have not yet engaged anyone in active
discussions. I'm going to sit there and poke the thread. Bump,
bump, bump each day. I had told myself that I would do it, even if I did
it all by myself. I am so, very, very happy that I do it with so many others
along side.

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